[waresbear]

A pocket? I am confused? You mean an indentation? How are you supposed to fill that in? With collegan implants?

 

[GamingGrrl]

It sounds like it could be the muscling wasting away from a too narrow saddle.
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[tinyliny]

A pocket? I am confused? You mean an indentation? How are you supposed to fill that in? With collegan implants?

I think the OP has a genuine question and I would hardly consider that a genuine answer, especially from a real horse person who knows a lot about riding and muscling a horse. Wanna give it another go for real this time?

 

[waresbear]

Ok I will try again, I am confused though? What pockets are you referring to? Can you please post a picture? I know you cannot spot induce muscle on places that are indented if they are indented to begin with.

 

[BlooBabe]

It sounds like there is muscle wasting or lack of muscling behind the shoulder blade Do you want thing you can do to build up the shoulders? Working in sand, stepping over things not jumping but walking over and really making the horse lift their legs, and ground driving or pulling things will help build up the shoulders.

 

[bsms]

​

Some horses have a hollow area near the shoulder that is part of their build. Others may have a bad fitting saddle, or need exercise overall. Need pictures...

 

[clippityclop]

Yes I think the OP is talking about indentations (or lack of muscling) behind the shoulder just below the wither - would probably make the horse look very narrow-withered....

it could be a lack of calories, yes - muscle atrophy (hopefully not b/c you can't correct that) or just lack of working the right muscles - I've seen this on horses that are ridden upside down ...

Couldn't help it...LOL YOU know what I mean...:lol::lol::lol:

yes, we need some pics!

 

[gottatrot]

I have to say that MOST of the time this is due to poor saddle fit. If the horse is not being ridden, then it may be from lack of exercise or poor condition/low body weight.

 

[Horseychick94]

Here are some pics. His prev owner said he has always been thin on top but I don't think he is normal

 

[waresbear]

Do you mean the hollows on either side of her withers? How old is this horse, as I see those pics are from 5 years ago. As a horse ages, they start to sag if not worked properly and/or if they have pain issues caused from ill fitting tack or undectected lameness. I would a have certified chiropractor check this horse over and then get a saddle fitter before I would begin working her too hard. From the view above her back, she looks like she has a sore, weak back.

 

[Cinnys Whinny]

There are a lot of things that could cause this, age is one. I would love to know how old the horse is.

If it's not age, in my opinion it has been ridden in an ill fitting saddle for a while, that can also cause this.

 

[spirit88]

From the looks of him id say ill fitting saddle. And inproper riding the under side of his neck is more developed then the top.

 

[Horseychick94]

Do you mean the hollows on either side of her withers? How old is this horse, as I see those pics are from 5 years ago. As a horse ages, they start to sag if not worked properly and/or if they have pain issues caused from ill fitting tack or undectected lameness. I would a have certified chiropractor check this horse over and then get a saddle fitter before I would begin working her too hard. From the view above her back, she looks like she has a sore, weak back.

The date on the pics are wrong. They are from this year. Horse is 7 years old. When I got him last year he was really undermuscled. The owner was pregnant and had the entire year off. My dressage saddle needs to be adjusted but I haven't been using it. He definitely isn't lame. I haven't worked him much this winter due to me being injured. His back isn't sore either. I have felt all along and pressed all over and he doesn't have any reaction. He works really nicely, too. I rode him yesterday in a western saddle and he was really nice and forward with a swinging back, head reaching down into contact, etc. And trust me, this is a horse is a complete princess. If a saddle doesn't fit right or a pad isn't quite right, he is really nasty about it. He will go with his head cranked sky high with his ears pinned, short steps, and sometimes bucks. He was totally relaxed and happy when I rode him yesterday so we can rule out lameness and sore back

 

[Horseychick94]

From the looks of him id say ill fitting saddle. And inproper riding the under side of his neck is more developed then the top.

We are working on the neck. He came to me like that when I bought him last year. Believe it or not, it was WORSE :shock:

 

[waresbear]

Well then I have no answers for you, other than ride the horse normally. There is no specific exercise, that I know of anyways, that fills those areas in.

 

[Horseychick94]

Well then I have no answers for you, other than ride the horse normally. There is no specific exercise, that I know of anyways, that fills those areas in.

All the owner told me was to do belly lifts and lunge in side reins

 

[Cinnys Whinny]

All the owner told me was to do belly lifts and lunge in side reins

Be careful lunging in side reins, if you have them set up improperly you can actually cause more problems than you are fixing. I know this from experience. Make sure you know you are setting your horse up to succeed with them.

 

[clippityclop]

Worst case scenario but one to consider is muscle atrophy. It can be caused from an ill fitting saddle - either too narrow or in some cases, too wide - here is some info showing a similar horse and his is due to the saddle being too wide... (scroll to the pic of the sorrel at the bottom).

The Trapezius muscle

once atrophied, it can't be corrected. A special built up wither pad is in order like this one...Reinsman Cutback Built Up Square Saddle Pad High Withers 32" x 32" prs237

and then life goes on like normal!

 

[tinyliny]

He may need some really good quality feed for a bit. he looks a bit underweight in general. Maybe some oils in his feed, like flax oil? ask the feed gurus, since I feed only hay I know nothing about grains or supplements.

a good fitting saddle and correct riding, and time, will help that, but it might not go away, ever.